Comments for Camrose Consulting: Outsourced financial management support

Comment on Bonuses – the good, the bad and the downright ugly by Sue

Sue — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:14:26 +0000

I suspect many bonus and reward schemes don’t work because there are underlying issues like those you describe whether it’s because the behaviours which are wanted/needed aren’t measured or the results can be manipulated in some way. This is probably where the view from many “bonuses don’t work” comes from.

There are also lots of other things which impact on behaviour and motivation and, in many businesses, there’s a mismatch between what’s seen as “good” across different areas of the business or different managers.

Comment on Greece – where’s the accountability? by David Lewis

David Lewis — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:17:35 +0000

Hi Paul

Thanks for the comment I totally agree. Emile Woolf’s article suggests that Greece was an extreme example, that some other countries were also creative with their accounting and also should not have been allowed in to the Euro….as you say overwhelming political pressures!

Whilst the EU is suggesting sweeping changes to the world of external audit; it woukd be interesting to know what it is doing to clean up its own governance. If there has been fraud it must surely be one of the biggest in history…and if those culpable are not brought to account it would be a sad endictment of EU politics, governance and ethics.

Comment on Greece – where’s the accountability? by Paul Green

Paul Green — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:23:26 +0000

As well as Greek honesty some proper scrutiny from the ECB would not have gone amiss. I think some common sense and detailed review from an independent panel would surely have lead to some enquires back in 2001. Clearly it’s easy to have 20:20 hindsight but the political pressure to drive the Euro as big as possible got in the way on proper controls and overview. When there is overwhelming outside pressures governance goes out of the window; a lesson that can be applied to the wider business community.

Comment on Put your head in the Cloud – but keep your feet on the ground! by Proactive Paul

Proactive Paul — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:56:43 +0000

A good assessement. My client base is already shifting from legacy clients to a younger clientele – the generation which left school after 1995 and which has grown up with the internet. They, like my nine year old son, cannot believe that we ever operated without the cloud. Remember, if you ever had a Hotmail address or a Yahoo address back in the 1990s then you were already working in the cloud.

And, as Dennis Howlett suggested with his Dinosaur slide (there’s a copy here http://bit.ly/p5ARZs ) there are going to be two types of accounting practice and two types of client. I predict a polarisation whereby dinosaur accountants get dinosaur clients and the cutting edge accountants get cutting edge clients. Moreover, in spite of my age, my practice has already made great inroads towards sitting firmly in that second category.

I imagine that all the delegates at CloudA21 should have had similiar thoughts!

Comment on News of the World – an unanswered question by Joanna Biddolph

Joanna Biddolph — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 09:21:29 +0000

David,

The buck always stops at the top and any slithering about saying it doesn’t does immeasurable damage. Someone has to take responsibility and saying you did not know about it demonstrates weak leadership. If you want your business to be protected from risks you set policies that mitigate those risks and policy-setting has to be driven from the very top.

Comment on News of the World – an unanswered question by David Lewis

David Lewis — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:21:10 +0000

On a lighter note I came across this blog: http://bit.ly/pyNdIB Accountants Choose Songs for the End of the News of the World

Comment on Benefits and pitfalls of invoice discounting by Sean Stevens - Credit Management Consultant

Sean Stevens - Credit Management Consultant — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:22:28 +0000

David, a nice summary article. Totally agree that invoice discounting and factoring (spot or other) can be an excellent way of financing your business. However, they are not suitable for everyone.

A robust credit management process is critical to every business with or without using any other form of cash flow management.

Comment on Benefits and pitfalls of invoice discounting by Perry Burns

Perry Burns — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:34:06 +0000

Excellent summary David; but don’t forget that there is also selective single invoice discounting (spot factoring) which allows a business to sell just one invoice at a time. The business retains the responsibility for collection and therefore the relationship with its customer and there are none of the audit issues associated with invoice discounting.

Comment on Management accounts: are beans part of your recipe for success? by How fraud prevention can improve profits and cash flow | Effective financial management for ambitious businesses

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:31:53 +0000

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Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:12:32 +0000

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